The Cartier Tank is ubiquitous and probably the most well-known watch design in the world, but in the 1960s, there were only three stores where you could buy one, the Cartier boutiques in Paris, London and New York. I shall explain how it moved from obscurity to omnipresent and how that was solely due to cigarettes and cigarette lighters.
In the 1960s Robert Hoq owned a cigarette lighter firm called Golden Match, they were a middle-of-the-road firm, above the disposables but not prestigious like Dupont or Dunhill. In the 60s style was everything and Hoq decided to produce a stylish lighter, he hired a designer who came up with a look based on a Greek column with a fluted body and a horizontal band at the top. He realised that having a prestigious name would massively help sales, so he approached the most famed jeweller in Paris – but Van Cleef and Arpels turned him down, so he approached Cartier who gladly accepted the offer. The Must de Cartier lighter became the first Cartier branded product to be sold outside the three boutiques.
Anton Rupert was a South African businessman with interests mostly in alcohol and tobacco, his European interests were grouped under the Rembrandt name, he saw the success of the lighter and approached Cartier asking for a licence to produce and sell cigarettes under their brand, knowing how much money they were making from the lighters, Cartier agreed. The cigarettes were another major success, and Robert and Anton soon got together to make an offer to buy Carier Paris outright, which they did in 1972. One of the first thing they did was to issue licenses for other items bearing the Cartier name, sunglasses, scarves, and even cars soon bore the name and brought in more money for the partners.
The decision was made to withdraw the licenses slowly and to take over production themselves, the first item to be made and sold was the Must de Cartier Tank watch in 1976, made in both men’s and women’s sizes, it became available in a range of dial colours and designs with both mechanical and quartz movements. It was so successful that the partners could purchase both the London and New York boutiques, bringing all of Cartier back under a single ownership for the first time since the family had split it up. The irony is that despite its success the Must disappeared from the catalogue as the brand moved out of the affordable end of the market, but I am happy to say that it reappeared two years ago and now vintage Must de Cartier watches are eagerly sought by collectors.
